Social Question of the Day
The social question of the day is an optional short question to follow the three project questions in the daily stand-up. It develops team cohesion and interpersonal trust over the course of an engagement by facilitating the sharing of personal preferences, lifestyle, or other context.
The social question should be chosen before the stand-up. The facilitator should select the question either independently or from the team’s asynchronous suggestions. This minimizes delays at the start of the stand-up.
Tip: having the stand-up facilitator role rotate each sprint lets the facilitator choose the social question independently without burdening any one team member.
Properties of a good question
A good question has a brief answer with small optional elaboration. A yes or no answer doesn’t tell you very much about someone, while knowing that their favorite fruit is a durian is informative.
Good questions are low in consequence but allow controversy. Watching someone strongly exclaim that salmon and lox on cinnamon-raisin is the best bagel order is endearing. As a corollary, a good question is one someone is likely to be passionate about. You know a little more about a team member’s personality if their eyes light up when describing their favorite karaoke song.
Starter list of questions
Potentially good questions include:
- What’s your Starbucks order?
- What’s your favorite operating system?
- What’s your favorite version of Windows?
- What’s your favorite plant, houseplant or otherwise?
- What’s your favorite fruit?
- What’s your favorite fast food?
- What’s your favorite noodle?
- What’s your favorite text editor?
- Mountains or beach?
- DC or Marvel?
- Coffee with one person from history: who?
- What’s your silliest online purchase?
- What’s your alternate career?
- What’s the best bagel topping?
- What’s your guilty TV pleasure?
- What’s your go-to karaoke song?
- Would you rather see the past or the future?
- Would you rather be able to teleport or to fly?
- Would you rather live underwater or in space for a year?
- What’s your favorite phone app?
- What’s your favorite fish, to eat or otherwise?
- What was your best costume?
- Who is someone you admire (from history, from your personal life, etc.)? Give one reason why.
- What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received?
- What’s your favorite or most used emoji right now?
- What was your biggest DIY project?
- What’s a spice that you use on everything?
- What’s your top Spotify (or just your favorite) genre/artist for this year?
- What was your first computer?
- What’s your favorite kind of taco?
- What’s your favorite decade?
- What’s the best way to eat potatoes?
- What was your best vacation (stay-cations acceptable)?
- Favorite cartoon?
- Pick someone in your family and tell us something awesome about them.
- What was your longest road trip?
- What thing do you remember learning when you were young that is taught differently now?
- What was your favorite toy as a child?